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AR: (EN) Create arcane appliance
Arcane Engineering: Creating Magical Devices The routines here are as varied as imagination can possibly picture. The act of creation may be incredibly simple, carving a rock and imbuing it with energy in a fashion where it becomes its own [[ARCSYS Point Sources|'point source']]. Alternately, sophisticated magic may call for a device with a million moving magical parts. __TOC__ Arcane engineering and applied science can produce on any scale imaginable, from nanometer sensors to structures larger than planets. Exactly what is possible will depend entirely on the maturity of both the understanding of magic and the mundane four fundamental forces of whatever that campaign setting happens to be. The Fundamentals of Fabrication The creation of a magically enhanced, powered or otherwise enchanted device starts with the basic recognition that "something needs to be done for function X." A template for a tool must be created, which usually borrows a mundane precedent then analyzes how magic might employed to make that device better. Better is entirely in the eye of the beholder, but once a desired characteristic (or characteristics) is chosen, the enchanter sets out to create an arcane way of recreating that effect. A blacksmith wants a hammer that hits harder without being heavier. A warrior wants a sword that cuts deeper. A wandist wants a wand that can channel energy without searing his hand. The more a craftsman knows about mundane science and engineering, the better they're going to be able to create devices that work with arcane energy. The Average Device Humanity (or any race for that matter) is a child of the mundane fundamental-4 forces. Most magic reflects this: the biggest demands to channel magic deal with placing a dedicated device into the hands of an arcane user. In some campaigns, especially the more limited settings, the biggest users may be limited to those with Arcane Practice (AP) skill. These are the wandists of the world. Expand that a little and there may be dedicated wands that may be limited in what they do, but are more efficient than the general-cast wands at one particular thing (like a "Wand of Fireballs"). There may be certain campaign settings where mundane triggers are available for arcane devices. This wouldn't open a general use wand to the untrained, but it would make for a Wand of Fireballs that could be picked up, aimed and fired by anybody with fingers. Within this range of devices is most anything that can be worn, held or carried. As for effects, every device is going to have a specific effect. There is no "Device of Protection +1." In Speculation, there is a mechanic to how every device works, and that mechanic not only affects has direct game-mechanics, but will likely also color and texture the role-play. The Average Enchanter Enchanting, in and of itself, is the art of imbuing magic into another object. The critical skill for this is Arcanology, while particular inventions will also require adjunct mundane skills. The Wizard's Workshop, Alchemist's Laboratory or Witch's Kitchen is an active, working space in Speculation. Enchanters can create magical energy entirely via mundane means, sometimes with equipment as simple as perfectly-tuned ultra-low frequency tuning forks. That attenuation is the critical component: knowing the harmonic that opens the gate for arcane energy to interact with Fun-4 is roughly the equivalent of knowing the formula for room-temperature superconductors. The knowledge is not inherently dangerous, but utilizing it is. It's not a possibility that something will go wrong, it's a probability. Arcane energy follows specific rules and physical laws, but for a single fifth force that interacts with the strong and weak nuclear force, gravity and electromagnetism, the complexities of magic alone equal the rest of them combined. It can give life, but in the wrong combinations, can be a volatile hazard with lethal toxicities. Enchanters, even those without AP casting abilities, must be bold. Even the most careful and often short-lived.Category:System Mechanics Category:ARCSYS Category:Skills Category:ARCSYS Routines